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Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast was a motion simulator ride in the Production Central area at Universal Studios Florida that replaced The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. The storyline is that the evil Ooblar, (brother to King Goobot who is an enemy of Jimmy's) from the Yolkian planet has stolen Jimmy's newest rocket creation, the Mark IV. Jimmy, along with his best friend Carl and robotic canine, Goddard, invite the audience to give chase in other rockets through the worlds and sound stages of the Nicktoons. It was replaced by Despicable Me:Minion Mayhem Ride summary The facility which used to house The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera is used for the same purpose as its predecessor. Enough changes were made to re-invent the ride as Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, such as paint and a new movie, but it is essentially the same. Queue The outside queue area, where people wait in line, feature several television screens that show various Nicktoons on a loop. The guests are then taken into a preshow area where the storyline for the ride would be revealed. Pre-show Inside the preshow, there is a television screen with an atom and electrons revolving around it (Jimmy Neutron's insignia). When the demonstration starts, Jimmy Neutron introduces himself, Goddard and Carl to the audience and then Jimmy instructs Goddard to give a layout of Nicktoon Studios. Shortly thereafter, the alarms go off and Jimmy's computer, the VOX-9000, alerts him that an intruder is on the premises. After a quick inspection of the lab, everything seems normal until a laser starts cutting the wall behind Jimmy, Carl, and Goddard. Ooblar shows up dressed as a tourist (notice that he's wearing a Universal cap). Jimmy asks what he's doing here and Ooblar responds that he came by to give Carl back his stuffed bear, Mr. Fluffkins. Jimmy is perplexed at this statement saying, "You came all this way to return Carl's bear?" Ooblar laughs and then plays a video that shows him and King Goobot arguing if Ooblar can enslave the Earth. King Goobot eventually gives in and requests that Ooblar bring the Mark IV rocket back to him so that he can duplicate it and then his armies can enslave the Earth. Ooblar then gets into the Mark IV and prepares to fly off but not before threatening Carl to hand over the remote control to pilot it. Ooblar then leaves through the hole in the wall that he caused and Jimmy asks the audience to follow them in some Mark I rockets that he will pilot by remote control, (the ride vehicles themselves) while he, Carl, and Goddard follow in the Mark II. Earlier, Carl had asked what happened to the Mark III rocket and Jimmy replied, "Don't ask." At this point, the screen goes black, and the guests are ushered to the rockets. Ride Right in front of the audience is a giant metal door with a large letter "N" for Neutron on the front. All of a sudden, the door opens and the rockets follow Jimmy, Carl, and Goddard out through the hole in the wall and enter Nicktoon Studios. There are lots of Nicktoon cameos to spot throughout the aerial pursuit, but this part of the ride has the most. Jimmy then warns the audience to watch out for the giant Slime Tower as the rockets head into Arnold's neighborhood. Straight ahead is the Rugrats sound stage where the characters are enjoying a Reptar-themed birthday party at Tommy Pickles' house. As Jimmy's rocket swoops in to follow Ooblar through the house, Goddard activates his roboclaw on Jimmy's command and grabs Angelica who is then carried through the house and up the stairs. The rockets then crash through an upstairs bedroom window as Angelica is dumped on the bed and enter The Fairly OddParents sound stage where Jimmy asks Cosmo and Wanda to help them get the Mark IV back. However, Cosmo's antics get in the way and Wanda asks him to give his wand to Carl to help stop Ooblar. Then Carl makes Ooblar disappear to the Yolkian planet and Wanda grants Jimmy's wish to follow him. On the Yolkian planet, Jimmy, Carl, and Goddard meet up with King Goobot who introduces them to Poultra, a gigantic alien chicken from the movie. While trying to flee from Poultra, the Mark IV is destroyed by her breath while simultaneously causing Jimmy's rocket to lose power and Ooblar to be turned into a fried egg. Carl uses Cosmo's wand to return to Earth where they crash land into Bikini Bottom where SpongeBob and Patrick are jellyfishing in Jellyfish Fields. SpongeBob is excited to see a "rocket-powered jellyfish" (Jimmy's rocket) and immediately gives chase by diving off a cliff onto Jimmy and then being pulled along behind the rocket in water skiing fashion. While hastily cruising around Bikini Bottom, Jimmy's rocket collides into the Krusty Krab, causing Mr. Krabs to unintentionally hitch a ride along with SpongeBob. Then Jimmy drags SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs underwater to a large pipe that leads back to his rocket lab. As the water drains into the floor, a very angry King Goobot shows up and traps Jimmy and Goddard in a floating bubble while forcing the audience and Carl to listen to the Chicken Dance as the seats move and bounce to the song. Carl manages to break free of the hypnotic music and uses Cosmo's wand, (which he still has), to blast King Goobot's staff where he controls the music and the bubble. Jimmy and Goddard are freed and King Goobot is reduced to a quivering mass after his shell is broken. Carl then starts wishing up tons of llamas as Jimmy thanks the audience for saving the universe. The door with the large letter "N" closes and the ride attendants congratulate the guests on a job well done. There is a 40-inch height requirement for the simulator, requiring smaller children to sit in a non-motion seat. Expectant mothers, people with motion sickness, heart problems, back or neck problems, are all encouraged to sit in a non-motion seat. People occasionally panic during the ride due to the intense motion, and the ride is stopped by an operator. Post-show Like its predecessor, after the show, guests are escorted into an interactive area where they can interact with various technologies geared towards children. This area holds various logo signs and props from old Nickelodeon shows, including a pipe from Double Dare 2000 and a sign from All That. There was also a character meet and greet area where the guests met Spongebob. Jimmy Neutron also made appearances in the attraction's earlier days. In June of 2008, the signs from old nickelodeon shows were taken away and were replaced with signs from newer nickelodeon shows such as Naked Brothers Band and iCarly. Cosmo and Wanda appear in different areas from time to time to talk about the thing they have poofed into, before disappearing. Gift shop Following this area, is a gift shop, called Nick Stuff, where Nicktoons merchandise can be purchased. Cast and Crew Cast * Debi Derryberry - Jimmy Neutron * Rob Paulsen - Carl Wheezer * Frank Welker - Goddard, Poultra * S. Scott Bullock - King Goobot, Elvis Ooblar * Paul Greenberg - Ooblar * Tom Kenny- SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary * Cheryl Chase- Angelica Pickles * Daran Norris- Cosmo, * Susan Blakeslee- Wanda * Clancy Brown- Eugene Krabs * Bill Fagerbakke- Patrick Star * Universal Studios Employee - NickToon Studios Attendant Crew * Directed by- Mario Kamberg * Produced by- Joel Krasnove, Gaylee Reznik, Kevin Susman * Music Composed by- James S. Levine * Production Design and Art Direction by- Allen Battino * Production Managed by- Julie Peng * Art design by- Chris Darroca, Kenny Pittenger * Sound Edited by- Roy Brauerman * Animation by- Trey Stokes * Sound Mixed by- Roy Brauerman * Visual Effects and Motion Control Designed by- Heather Baker, Robert J. Baldwin, Christopher Lee Fowler, Ronn Harbin, Jason Meier, David Ridlen, John Sore, Donny Sorvala, Trey Stokes, Hanzhi Tang, Ride Trade * Production Assistant by- Trinity Murphy * Distributed by- Nickelodeon Animation Studios and Viacom Productions History The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was one of Universal Studios Florida's original attractions, opening with the park on June 7, 1990. In 1998, Universal officials noticed that the ride had lost a large percentage of it's operating capacity, most likely because children were not interested in Hanna-Barbera cartoons anymore and they secretly began work on a new attraction to replace it with which would be based on modern cartoons rather then older animation due. Universal then brought up the idea of opening a Nickelodeon themed simulator ride. In the early 2000's, a contract was granted with Viacom and Nickelodeon to replace "Hanna-Barbera" with a simulator ride titled "The Nicktoon Blast." In 2001, when it was decided the newest nicktoon character Jimmy Neutron would host the ride, and it was secretly greenlit as "Jimmy Neutorn's Nicktoon Blast." Production on the ride film and conceptual art of the new look for the ride was done in 2001 through very early 2003. In July of 2002, Universal officially confirmed that they would not renew their contract for the Hanna-Barbera ride and that it would be replaced by "Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast" in 2003. They had also announced the replacement of Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies with Shrek 4-D on the same day. Production Unlike the ride film of "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" which Universal had co-produced with Hanna-Barbera Productions, the ride film of Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast was created solely by Nickelodeon Animation Studios with Viacom Productions as the distributor, and the only involvement which Universal Studios had in production of the ride film was an appearance of the Universal logo on the character Ooblar's hat during the pre-show portion. However, Totally Fun Company's Mario Kamberg, Alan Battino and Trey Stokes, who designed the ride film for "Hanna-Barbera", also signed on to take part in the animation of the Nicktoon Blast ride film. The reason for which "Hanna-Barbera" needed a contract as well despite Universal still in ownership of the ride film was due to the fact that Universal did not own the characters and needed a license to use them at their theme parks. By the end of the run of Nicktoon Blast, expected to close in 2010, Kamberg and Battino will have both their films playing in the same theater for 20 years. There has been speculation that Hanna-Barbera characters have a very brief cameo in the opening portion of the main ride, as in homage to the Hanna-Barbera ride. However, this may be unlikely because Nickelodeon produced the ride film and Hanna Barbera characters are copyrighted by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Nevertheless, it may have been possible that Kamberg and Battino had permission from the companies to include the characters. Further more, in the pre-show portion of the ride film, Jimmy Neutron's rocket the Mark IV which Ooblar steals bears an almost total resemblance to Dick Dastardly's space rocket in "Hanna-Barbera". In both rides, the rockets which the villans ride are in a resemblance to each other's. Attraction changes The rebuilding of "Hanna-Barbera" into "Jimmy Neutron" lasted 5 months and two weeks, currently the second shortest ride turn around in Universal Orlando Resort's history behind the change from Earthquake: The Big One to Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You!. Changes are very minimal, and the experience is essentially the same, similar to "Disaster!". The changes include new paint on soundstage 42's exterior, as well in the tent for the queue area, and on the ride vehicles. In the pre-show portion, minimal re-themeing was done, and it is almost entirely the same from Hanna-Barbera. The only changes in the pre-show portion are the new ride film as well as the removal of the Jetsons style robot arm which would "hold" one of the pre-show screens in Hanna-Barbera. Another change was the addition of a red alert signal when the pre-show video plays. The Hanna-Barbera rocket and projector still remain exactly in tact. In the main ride portion, the rocket style ride vehicles have been repainted to bear the resemblance of Jimmy's Mark 1 rocket rather then the Hanna-Barbera rockets. Jimmy's "N" insignia has also been etched into the seats of each ride vehicle, as well as above the ride screen, and the new ride film also plays. New effects were also added as well,which include lighting flashes in some parts of the ride, and riders also feel water and bubbles come down from the ceiling during other portions. Many of the motion system's movements are the same from Hanna-Barbera because the same system is re-used, except for the chicken dance finale. Rocket windows on the right and left sides of the theater are still exactly in tact from Hanna-Barbera. During the interactive post show, nothing has been re-used from Hanna-Barbera except for a projection screen used for one of the games. Every other set is newly built. As for the gift shop, it has been slightly refurbished for Nicktoon themeing, and new paint has been added in place of previous Hanna-Barbera murals. Construction and opening "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" closed on October 20, 2002 and construction began almost immediately afterwords. The attraction started previews in late March , 2003 known as "Technical Reheasals". The ride was officially opened by Universal Orlando on April 11. Updated queue When the ride was first opened, the queue video showed clips from Hey Arnold, Invader Zim and Ren and Stimpy but now shows clips from new nicktoons such as Danny Phantom, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Catscratch. Closure On March 14 2011 Universal Orlando announced that Nicktoon Blast would be operating on a seasonal schedule starting on April 1 2011.The ride officially closed on August 18 2011 by a closing team to make way for Despicable Me:Minion Mayhem. Halloween Horror Nights The attraction has frequently been run at the Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Orlando Resort. It was run during Horror Nights the following years. * HHN (2004) * HHN: Sweet 16 (2006) * HHN: Carnival of Carnage (2007) Reception The ride received a mixed to negative reception from guests and theme park fans. Most believe that the attraction does not outdo the previous ride. Most describe "Nicktoon Blast" as being a duplicate of the original, with a Nicktoon theme. Also more people describe that it is a little too boring and too kiddish. Some received the ride positively. The website Orlando Rocks gave a positive review stating "Move over Hanna! This ride is wonderful".1 On IMDB, a user gave a positive review of 8 out of 10 stars stating that it was "simply fun" but that it "doesn't hold up to it's sic predecessor"2 a reviewer on Theme Park Insider said that "it is a fun little ride". One user said "I had a fun time on here, the dancing was the best part" and another called it "a memorable experience" but that it "is one of the most underated attractions at Universal". Others were more negative of the attraction. On IMDB, another user gave a lackluster review stating "It's basically the same exact ride, only there's a different movie and the ride vehicles have all been repainted" and also said "skip this one in favor of more innovative and exciting rides"2 Most reviews conducted on Theme Park Insider mention that the ride is nothing more than "Just O.K.", with one reviewer saying "it hurts your butt when it does the chicken dance". Another reviewer said that "This is probably not the ride for adults without kids, especially if you really like Hanna-Barbera cartoons. But hey, if there is nothing else to do, then go for it" The ride received a 7 out of 10 rating on the website Theme Park Insider.3 On IMDB, it received a 6 out of 10 star rating. Comparingly, the Hanna-Barbera ride received an 8 out of 10 rating. Trivia * Right before Jimmy enters the underwater pipe in Bikini Bottom leading back to his lab, there is a half-submerged tugboat in the sand on the left. This tugboat is the "Thug Tug" from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie that was released to theaters in November over a year after the ride debuted. * As a joke, when Jimmy returns to Earth from the Yoikian Planet, a model of a Category 1 Hurricane heading to South Carolina is seen. * During the pre-show, Ooblar is wearing a Universal Studios hat. * When Jimmy blasts into Arnold's neighborhood, there is a poster for Hey Arnold!: The Movie on a building. * The Pre-Show includes many Universal Studios in-jokes. For instance, Jimmy states that you are actually standing in Nicktoon Studios, and that The New York section of the park is Arnold's Neighborhood and The Amity section of the park is Bikini Bottom. * In tribute to the closing of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ride, Yogi Bear, George Jetson, Dick Dastardly, and Muttley make cameos in the ride. * A part of the ride featured Ooblar turned into Elvis Presley. Category:Motion Simulator Rides Category:Non-Universal Themed Rides Category:Former Attractions Category:Organization